Nicknames of a Cat and Mouse
by Ailorenth
Summary: Isn't it funny what nicknames can lead to? Kankuro and Tenten are sure to find out when team Gai's mission is stationed in Suna. But will a fateful attack end it all? KankuXTen, onesided NejiXTen, and mention of SkikaXTema
1. Chapter 1

*Thwock*

"HIYAH!"

*Swoosh*

Tenten walked chirpily over to the training ground where the other members of team Gai were training vigorously for a new mission. She sighed at the oh so familiar sight of her ex-sensei and best friend, sobbing with their arms thrown round each other, they had obviously just recently finished one of their 'youthful' training session.

"Heyy, Neji!" She waved her arm above her head and sped up to meet him below a shady tree. She leant over him and offered out her hand, he took it, hesitantly. Tenten didn't mind though, he had come so far since the chuunin exam fight with Naruto all those years ago.

"Hn" was his only response as he stood up quickly and walked over to meet the youthful duo stretching out their muscles. That was always his only response, but somehow, it just seemed so right to Tenten, She never got any real emotion out of him, but that was just his way, and she didn't mind all that much.

She proceeded to follow Neji over to Gai and Lee, waving and smiling at them both as they did so. She adjusted her bag and scroll before reminding her ever-forgetful (ex)Sempai of the mission they were due to leave for. Today.

"Thank you Tenten, once again the Chrysanthemum of the Hidden Leaf has kept Team Gai on track!" He gave her a quick thumbs up before picking up his bag, and wiping the remaining tears off his face.

The adolescent girl giggled quietly before they all set off towards the main gate, expecting the quickly approaching mission to be an easy one. I mean, they were team Gai, they could handle anything.

Suna

"Hey, Temari?" leant in the doorway of the living room, a quizzical puppet master stood, arms crossed.

"Huh? What is it Kankuro?" she turned her head slightly to meet his eyes.

"The scouting mission? There's supposed to be a team from Konoha here in 3 days for it, right?"

"What of it?" she stood slowly and placed a scroll on the table neatly.

"Meh, just wondering really, if it was Naruto's team" He sighed and went to leave.

"Hey, Kankuro, I understand why" she gently placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, her eyes studying the floor.

"We never had the chance to thank him properly, we owe that kid so much, along with Sakura and Kakashi. Not to mention Elder Chiyo. They saved our baby brother, and I'm grateful, the whole village is" she sounded almost sad when she spoke, but it was calming to listen to her serious voice for a change. She was a strong woman and always sounded so, motivational when she spoke.

"Yeah I know, I just feel like I owe my life to him, and Konoha"

After three days of almost constant walking, little Tenten was seriously knackered. And considering they were just coming up to Suna gates, which just so happened to be in THE hottest desert ever, She was pretty hot too.

She sighed at the realisation that they still had to walk all the way to the Kazekages office, on the other damn side of the village. Tenten let her mind run over the mission briefing for the third time this journey. 'We were to go to Sunagakure on suspicions of a group of highly skilled ninja planning to invade the village, what they wanted was unknown. We were to investigate the entire village for any unusual behaviour. But apparently it would be too suspicious to the enemy if the Sand shinobi started asking around, as by now, its believed that the enemies have been staying in the village for some time now. And so they would recognise the sand Ninja. Remember, they are skilled, but you are too, I have faith in you, and our best tracking and surveillance team are already out on a mission…' Tsunade had such a way with words.

"Welcome to Suna, You must be team Gai, am I correct?" She snapped back to reality as she heard an almost emotionless, yet familiar voice.

Tenten stared blankly around the room, blinking a few times before realising that she was in the Kazekages's office, opposite the Kazekage. 'Damn'. She needed to stop doing that. She heard Gai-sensei confirm our identity, before Gaara-sama spoke again.

"Alright then, I assume you've had a briefing, your mission starts tomorrow. Good luck. Temari, Kankuro, show our guests to their apartments they will be staying in". He sat down calmly in his chair, before motioning to his siblings to leave. He almost had a quaint smile on his face, almost.

They all left the room quietly, Temari closing the door behind us before turning to Kankuro and sheepishly adding; "Well, I need to go back to Konoha, so I have to leave today. Y'know, the chuunin exams need some more preparation and stuff, so I'll see you in about two weeks, you be ok till then baby bro?" she smirked at him before putting her hand on his shoulder and giving him a serious nod

"Eh, Chuunin exams? Pfft, more like to see your little Shikamaru" he smirked back at her before turning to the Konoha team and signalling for them to keep walking.

"Good luck you guys!" she waved happily before turning to walk in the other direction.

Kankuro sighed and walked faster to catch up with them. They carried on walking for about another 15 minutes, much to Tenten's dislike, before they stopped outside a large wooden door.

"Well, we're here, there's 3 single beds in there, on suite bathroom, and all the necessities, feel free to use whatever. Need something just ask" he unlocked the door then handed Gai-Sensei the key.

Gai and Lee walked in, obviously impressed by Tsunade and Gaara's choice in living conditions for the team. Neji walked in, didn't say much. Well, didn't say anything really. Tenten stepped through the doorway, also quite shocked at the huge apartment, staring into the living area thinking about running and taxing the bed next to the window. She was stopped by a rough hand holding onto my arm.

"Hey!" She turned abruptly to see Kankuro leaning in the doorway, looking slightly bothered.

"Tsunade ordered that you have your own apartment, she didn't want you staying with 2 boys, and Gai" he let go of her arm gently.

"She-, heh, well that's Tsunade for you" Tenten giggled quietly before smiling sweetly at him.

"So, where am I staying?"

"Hm? Oh, it's a few doors down, ill show you" he pointed down the hallway then took off in the direction of which he was pointing.

She followed close behind, careful not to step on the backs of his feet. She inwardly thanked Tsunade for giving her a separate apartment, mentally noting to buy her a bottle of sake when she got back, as a thank you gift. Spending two weeks with Gai, spread out precariously on the sofa he'd insist to sleep on, in nothing but his extremely short boxers was not a pretty sight. Nor was the way he was convinced that he'd only ruin his 'youthful spandex' if he wore them to sleep. Sheesh, now that's a memory She'd never forget. Tenten shuddered at the horrible thought, trying to push the image from her mind She focused on something else. The Puppet-master walking a foot in front of her.

Remembering him vaguely, She prodded about her memory to see what she could find. What she did remember of him was totally different from how he appeared now, he used to be smug, smart-mouthed and arrogant. And although the way he manoeuvred his puppet to instantly kill that gennin in the preliminaries was conceited and dark, She had took a kind of liking to it. For some reason, it impressed her.

"Um, you going in?" Kankuro was now standing opposite me, waving his hand in front of her face, his other arm outstretched, holding her door key. He had a genuine look of concern on his face.

"huh-? Oh, yeah" the girl's cheeks threatened to turn pink as she shyly took the keys from his hand. Her eyes pondered on them for a while, noticing the small individual scars dotted about it.

"The scars?" he asked, lifting his hand in front of me.

"Hm? Uhh, I was just wondering how you got them, since your fighting style is generally long-distance, right?"

"Meh, you think I'd let an enemy get close enough to me to do this damage? Nah, this is from constantly fixing Karasu, Black Ant and Salamander. Heh, you'd think I'd remember where all the blades are by now"

"Oh, I remember Karasu from the Chuunins. He's creepy, but cool none-the-less. I bet he's great for intimidating the enemy" She giggled nervously, noticing how confused he looked and hoping she hadn't offended him.

"Wha-? Wow, you're the first girl besides Temari that hasn't Insisted I was gay because I fight with 'dolls'" he scratched his neck nervously.

She stifled her laughter as the thought of the 'great puppet master' playing with little dolls crept into her head.

"Well I better be off, mission starts tomorrow, see ya" She waved sweetly, well, awkwardly, at the boy opposite her before turning to head inside the apartment.

"Hey wait" He took a step towards her, She moved her head round tiredly so that she could see him, but not too much, She was tired and pretty groggy. He hesitated for a few seconds before managing a sentence.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey wait" He took a step towards her, She moved her head round tiredly so that she could see him, but not too much, She was tired and pretty groggy. He hesitated for a few seconds before managing a sentence.

"I noticed you didn't pay much attention in the meeting" he said vaguely.

"oh..umm, I _was_, I was just.." she began.

"meet me at the Suna training grounds at 10" he grumbled "I have some information".

And with that he turned on his heel and mooched off down the hallway, leaving Tenten swaying sleepily in the doorway, awaiting sleep. She shuffled into the apartment and quietly closed the door behind her, swirling round to almost 180 she stopped abruptly. Eye twitching and toes curling she took in the sight that beheld her.

The room was pretty much the size of the bed(?), a tiny drawer for equipment, _no_ bathroom, not even a toilet was present. She scoffed at the lack of necessities in the room and mentally stroked 3 lines through the 'buy Tsunade some sake' mental note. The gloomy girl threw her bag onto the bed then slumped down after it, all she could think of was having to share a bathroom with those three…just brilliant.

8:30 AM

A groggy, messy, tired Kunoichi plodded her way down the hallway, towel held loosely in one hand, toothbrush in the other.

"How dare she give them lot a better room than me…I know I don't act like it, but I'm still a _girl" _She mumbled.

"Tenten! Good morning!" cried an over enthusiastic Lee, lunging in the hallway outside their room.

"How embarrassing" Sighed Tenten "hi Lee, I'm coming to use the bathroom, ok?"

"Sure thing! Gai Sensei is just finishing up in there"

She nodded tiredly and manoeuvred her way around the green shinobi and into the shared room, she stopped, dropped everything she had, including her jaw, dumbfounded by the unsightly scene she had just witnessed.

"G-Gai Sensei! That's a _hand_ towel! _Not _a shower towel!" She exclaimed, cheeks red with embarrassment.

"Oh? What do you mean youthful Tenten?" he enquired.

"I-I mean, it's not really, well , big enough"

She was right, this whole towel situation was almost as bad as the _Speedos _situation they had had last year, now that was something she didn't want to remember. Without replying he shifted off to his room to -hopefully- get dressed.

Tenten gathered her stuff from the floor and made her way into the bathroom, she lent over and switched the hot tap on before pushing the door closed with her foot.

"I need a new team" she whispered to herself.

Switching the water to 'shower' mode she began untying her perfect buns, her chocolate brown hair fell loosely around her face and trailed down her back. She turned and looked in the mirror, picked up the loose hair around her shoulders and sighed, grabbed her hair band and scooped it all back into a ponytail.

Ten minutes later a refreshed and sparkly Kunoichi emerged from the bathroom sporting an excessively oversized towel wrapped around herself. 'not taking any chances' she told herself. She tip-toed through the room and peeked round the corner of the doorframe.

"no one there…good" she confirmed.

"Why didn't you just bring your clothes with you" came a blunt and formal voice.

"Oh, uh Neji! I um…didn't think of that" She managed, her cheeks fluttering a light pink colour.

"We are starting our surveillance at 11:30, that's when the town and shops are at their busiest, we are meeting at the local flower shop" and with that he walked back into his bedroom.

"damn…why _didn't_ I think of that"

After heading back to her room and pulling on her ninja attire, she quickly forced her wavy hair back into its preferred place of on her head, out of her way.

Kankuro

"Hey Kankuro!"

Kankuro turned a lazy head in the direction of the voice, "what is it, Matsuri?"

"Did you see the guys from Konoha!" she exclaimed.

"Uh huh" came his reply, he _was_ trying to polish Karasu, but this persistent girl was just standing right there.

"They helped your brother didn't they"

"yup, saved his life"

"Do you know them, like, properly? Because Gaara-Sama apparently asked for Naruto's team" stated Matsuri.

"Probably not, Gaara doesn't make requests like that, now, why are you here?"

She pondered for a moment before her face lit up with realisation "oh, Gaara-Sama has a mission for me!"

Kankuro sighed and stood up "that's nice"

"See you later!" She exclaimed.

He didn't bother replying, she had already taken off in the direction of the Kazekage's office. He turned to Karasu and effortlessly sealed him inside a scroll then threw said scroll onto his back and began making his way to the training grounds.

Tenten

Tenten bustled past the people in the streets until she came to a sign post labelled 'Training Grounds', she sighed in relief and picked up the pace.

"Everything looks the same around here" she whispered under her breath.

"Then clearly you don't have an eye for architectural art" came a sarcastic reply.

"Oh, well sure I do, this Village is just so different from Konoha" lied a nervous, and now embarrassed Kunoichi.

Kankuro snuffed and walked ahead of her, She followed instinctively staring at the ground still slightly embarrassed. They walked for a little while longer until they reach a sandy field with a few trees and plenty of targets and training dummies.

"Wow, you can barely see the grass under all this sand" She joked, hoping to somewhat lift the awkwardness between them.

"Right, so your team mates are pretty goofy"

Tenten looked up to see the puppeteer leaning casually against one of the targets "yeah I suppose they are, they are a good team though!" she protested.

"I've had some information that's led me to believe that the assassins are here to take out Gaara"

"right" nodded Tenten.

"Which isn't usually a problem, I mean, he's Gaara" he continued "But I've heard rumours that these guys have some sort of weapon…or sealing jutsu…or something that pretty much destroys his sand"

"Oh?"

"Gaara doesn't know this yet though, and with Temari always being away, and me having to lead teams on missions, it's a bit of a problem"

Tenten paused the conversation "Wait, he doesn't _know _?"

Kankuro scratched his head "No, not really"

"Why not?" she asked in a very Neji voice.

"We were told not to get involved in this mission, Gaara didn't want us drawing attention to the sand ninja"

Tenten cut him off, understanding his point "I'll let Gai know immediately"

"heh, you work too hard"

Tenten looked at him quizzically "Says the guy working hard to work undercover for something he's not supposed to be working on" She sighed at how awkward and rude that came out "I'm sorry I should probably go find my team"

"You should think about what you say before you say it…jeez" he cracked a tiny cynical smile "anyway before you leave, this should be a regular thing. I mean, I'm probably better than you at finding out information, so it'll help you get a one up on your team"

"Wait..wha…"

Before Tenten could finish her sentence a blurry figure appeared dangerously close to Kankuro in a cloud of smoke.


	3. Chapter 3

Okay so it's been like 3 years since i last wrote this! I had chapter 3 nearly finished but lost it when i switched pc's. But it was very different to what i've come up with now! But i hope you like it, please let me know in the comments what you think or any ideas for the story.  
>Happy reading beautys!<p>

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 3<span>

* * *

><p>Before Tenten could finish her sentence a blurry figure appeared dangerously close to Kankuro in a cloud of smoke.<p>

"Tenten! My favourite student!" exclaimed an always enthusiastic Gai as he stepped out of his smoky surroundings.

"Uh- Gai-Sensai, hi" She replied, startled at his sudden intrusion.

After Gai had settled down, Tenten explained the situation and what Kankuro had told her.

"I see, I see" He pondered "Well okay then!" He turned to Kankuro "Now, if they will be suspicious of Sand-Nin collecting information, how do you think they will feel if they see you conferring with a Leaf-Nin, young puppet master with the cat ears" he explained.

"Cat ea-"

"Right!" Tenten agreed "So what do we do Sensei? I mean, Kankuro can get us valuable information".

Kankuro stood astonished by this Ninja's entire composure.

"I've got an idea" smirked Gai "No one would suspect two love birds meeting in secret now would they?". His gleaming smile glistened in the sun.

"Right, but where do we get two 'love-birds'? Gai-Sensei I'm not sure i'm following you" replied a very confused Tenten.

Kankuro was still stood staring right through the spandex-clad ninja "He means us" he sighed.

"Right!" nodded Gai, with a thumbs up "I'll leave this part of the mission with you Tenten! And remember kids, to be a ninja is to deceive your opponent!" And with that he was off, grinning his usual grin.

"What...just happened" moaned Kankuro.

"I'm so sorry about him he's just uh, special" pleaded Tenten "but he is right, it would make meeting much less suspicious... Kitty cat" she winked.

"So you expect me to just go along with this ridiculous plan, MOUSEY?" he remarked.

"What else do you suggest, face paint?" she retorted.

"Woah, calm down Missy, it'll work, for now. But NO-ONE finds out about this" Kankuro demanded.

"Fine by me" Tenten snorted "See you at 7 for dinner then, or something, I don't know, you know where my room is" She looked down at her gloved hands "And make sure you have some damn good information for us!".

"Hm" came his reply.

Tenten walked briskly away from the training ground, making a point not to look back.

"Typical Gai-Sensei.." she mumbled to herself.

She made her way through the bustling streets towards the flower shop, apparently these people weren't phased by the tremendous heat. She stuck mainly to the alleyways, trying to spot anyone suspicious looking, but mainly to keep in the shade and out of that damn Suna sun.

The brown haired kunoichi made it through an entire day without breaking down or diving into the nearest bath spring, either this heat or Gai-sensei would be the death of her. After their meeting in the morning the mission was drawn out clearly.

Tenten now had to lay low, try to fit in and oh, pretend to be in love with that Puppet-Creep! 'Neji, Gai and Lee got all the fun work' she thought to herself, flicking her bangs out her eyes.

"6o-clock" she sighed, and turned in the direction of the Kazekage's building. She stopped briefly outside a ramen shop and had to drag her aching feet past it as she remember her 'dinner date' she had planned for tonight.

"Shit" she inhaled, was she supposed to dress up? She had no idea what to do on a date, hell she had never actually been asked on a date before, maybe she just intimidated people? Who knew.

By the time she was done stressing, she was outside her room fumbling for the key, she bust open the door and stretched over to the bed. She looked in the small mirror on the opposite wall, staring back at her was a slightly tired looking, plain, brown haired Kunoichi with no real outstanding features, maybe that's why she hadn't been on a date?

"Psh, a date, whatever it's not like its for real" she mused "Aw hell i'm going to go as I am, it's nothing special, just work" she decided.

An hour went by quickly and at 7:10pm a light knock echoed through the room.

Tenten sighed and walked over to the door "I got this" she reassured. She opened It and was met with an equally unamused Kankuro, face-paint and all.

"Sup"

"Hey" She replied, unsure what exactly to say "So where is this super snazzy place the Kazekage's brother is going to take me" She mused.

"Oh, I was gonna get ramen so-" He trailed off.

"No that's cool, i've been craving the damn thing all day" Tenten chuckled.

She noticed Kankuro give a very slight smile before turning and walking toward the staircase. She followed suit, noticing he wasn't carrying his puppet scrolls. 'Well that makes a nice change I guess'. She too didn't bother bringing her weapons scroll, seeing as she was 'undercover', 'God what a waste of my talent' she thought to herself.

The trailed through the less busy streets before stopping at that same ramen shop from earlier. Tenten sat and inhaled all of the incredible smells, unaware of the Shinobi sat next to her, probably wondering what the hell she was doing.

They ordered their food then focused on business.

"So what have you found out today, Kitty-cat" Tenten joked whilst slurping noodles into her mouth.

"Well _actually _Mousy, I found out that they are from the Village hidden in the Mist" He spoke "No idea what they would want with Gaara though".

"Strange" Tenten mulled the information over In her head "You don't think it could be Akatsuki again do you?".

"Nah, doubt it, last time they tried that, you Konoha Ninja killed one of em" He smirked "damn deserved it too".

Tenten noticed the serious undertone in his voice. She decided she would try and lighten the mood.

"Well if that's all the info you got, why don't we go and train?" She smiled.

Kankuro lifted his head from his half eaten ramen, slightly surprised by the Kunoichi's suggestion. He looked at her smiling face, and noticed the tiny spot of ramen dotted on the corner of her lips.

"Fine" he replied and quickly lifted his hand to her face, paused for a second, then rubbed the ramen off with the back of his fingers "I know a good place". He thanked the shop owner, pulled out some money then began to walk towards said place, hands slouched in his pockets.

Tenten blushed furiously, hoping to God he had turned away before he notice, It didn't matter anyway, she was going to kick his ass.

They strode past the closing market, normal citizens working hard to provide for their families, Tenten furrowed her brow, thinking what a massive difference a job role could make in ones life.

She kept a metre or so distance between them and they walked in silence, but not a 'oh god I should say something!' silence, more of a 'this is nice, taking in all my surroundings' kind of silence, and She appreciated that, even throwing a few smiles to young children as their mothers called them inside. The shops started to thin out and more houses and flats began dotting the street, and more and more people were getting inside before the sun set.

"Uhm" Tenten spoke softly "So not to burst your thought bubble or whatever, but are we nearly there? We've been walking for _ages"._

"Heh, what kind of Kunoichi are you?" He smirked.

They carried on walking, and Tenten was visibly blushing again, "It was only a question" She grumbled.

"Fine, let's make things interesting, see that massive willow tree?" Kankuro pointed into the distance "Whoever makes it there last, buys the other one a drink" That smirk again.

Tenten was well known in Konoha for her love of a challenge, maybe Lee had rubbed off on her at some point, who knew?

She quickened her pace so she was next to him "Fine, Start!" She yelled as she took off at lightning speed, years racing Lee too and from missions kicking in.

"Wai-" Kankuro frowned before taking off right behind her.

Tenten took to the rooftops, strategically planning the quickest root. Kankuro knew better, he knew these streets like the back of his hand and powered through tiny alleyways, eyes never leaving the willow tree.

The tree was whizzing closer every second, and Tenten was convinced she had it in the bag, until the corner of her eye caught movement. A cat, no wait, that was a person, Kankuro! He was making a beeline for the tree, crossing the vast patch of baron land separating the bustling city and this age old tree.

Tenten watched furiously as he slowed his pace, turned to look at her just to flash one of his signature 'i'm better than you' smiles. She too slowed down, not out of exhaustion, but laughter. She chuckled to herself until she caught up with the now standing-next-to-said-tree Kankuro.

"What's so funny? I won" He said triumphantly.

"I guess the cat _can _outrun the mouse" She snorted a giggle and held her forearm up to the tree for support.

"Heh, then that means I am superior to you" He bragged.

"Hah, nope! The cat may be able to outrun the mouse, but the mouse is" She paused for dramatic effect, before bringing her other hand up to point at her arm "_smarter"_.

"What? Damn!" The puppeteer grimaced at his own stupidity, no one outsmarts the puppet-master!

He chuckled in a low volume, and with a gleam in his eye raised he knee and flew his leg right at Tenten.


End file.
